School uniforms: Do they really improve student achievement, behavior?

Constrain to simple back and forward steps. The effect of new communication technology in amplifying political uses of academic research is discussed. A junior by the name of Kimberly Jacobs was suspended a total of five times because she wore a religious shirt to school and got cited for uniform violations. Typically, inner-city schools have polo shirts and trousers for the primary- and junior-high-school years, and then move up to buttoned shirts, usually some form of tie, and dress trousers with a belt or a skirt. With uniforms also comes a variety of controversies, pros, cons and major legal implications.

In the Forney Independent School District of Forney, Texas in , the school board decided to implement a school uniform policy allowing the students to wear a polo shirt , oxford shirt or blouse in four possible colours, and blue or khaki pants or shirts, a skirt or jumper. While there was some flexibility with shoes, certain types were prohibited along with any sort of baggy clothes.

The parents of the Littlefield family requested that their son be exempt from the policy, but were denied. In response, the Littlefields filed a lawsuit against the school district, under the pretenses that this uniform mandate infringed on their rights as parents to control how they brought up their children and their education. They even went as far as to cite an infringement on religious freedom, claiming that opting out of the uniforms on the grounds of religion allowed the school to rank the validity of certain religions.

Before trial, the District Court dismissed the case, so the family appealed. Ultimately, the Fifth Circuit Court ruled that the students' rights were not being violated even though the claims presented were valid.

They ruled that school rules derived from the education would override the parents' right to control their children's upbringing in this specific situation. As far as the religious freedom violation accusations, the court ruled that the policy did not have a religious goal, and thus did not infringe on religious freedom rights. In , Liberty High School, a school of the Clark County School District in Henderson, Nevada , implemented a uniform policy of khakis and red, white or blue polo shirts.

A junior by the name of Kimberly Jacobs was suspended a total of five times because she wore a religious shirt to school and got cited for uniform violations. Her family sued the Clark County School District under the claims that her First Amendment rights were being infringed upon and that the uniform policy was causing students to be deprived of due process. The plaintiff's requests were for injunctive relief, the expunging of suspensions from Jacob's school record and awarding of damages.

The injunction was granted to the family meaning that the school could no longer discipline her for breaking the uniform policy. At this ruling, the school district appealed. The next court ruled on the side of the school district as it determined that the uniform policy was in fact neutral and constitutional, and it dismissed the claims of the plaintiff. In , a Nevada public elementary school of the Washoe County School District decided to add the school's motto, Tomorrow's Leaders embroidered in small letters on the shirt.

In response, Mary and John Frudden, parents of a student sued the school district on the basis of it violating the 1st Amendment. The court ultimately dismissed the case filed by the Fruddens over the uniforms. However, the family appealed, and two years later, a three-judge panel of the 9th U. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case. The court ruled to reverse the previous decision of dismissing the case, and also questioned the apparent policy for students that were part of a nationally recognised group such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts who were able to wear the uniforms in place of the school ones on regular meeting days.

The 9th circuit panel ruled that the school had not provided enough evidence for why it instituted this policy, and that the family was never given a chance to argue. There are several positive and negative social implications of uniforms on both the students wearing them and society as a whole. One of the criticisms of uniforms is that it imposes standards of masculinity and femininity from a young age.

Uniforms are considered a form of discipline that schools use to control student behavior and often promote conventional gendered dress. They are also often required to have their hair cut short. Some critics allege that this uniform is associated with the dress of a professional business man, which, they claim, gives boys at a young age the impression that masculinity is gained through business success. Skirts are seen by some critics as a symbol of femininity because they restrict movement and force certain ways of sitting and playing.

Uniforms often start to increase in popularity around middle school in the United States , when students begin going through puberty. Uniforms can be seen as a way to restrict the sexualization of girls rules on hems of skirts, no shoulders. Uniforms take the focus away from sexuality and focus it on academics in a school setting for girls. Miniskirts have been very popular in Japan, where they became part of school uniforms, and they came to be worn within the Kogal culture.

In some cultures, the topic of school uniforms has sparked a multitude of controversies and debates over the years. In the United States, the implementation of school uniforms began following ten years of research indicating the effectiveness of private schools. Some state-school reformers cited this research to support policies linked to private and Catholic school success.

However, within the Catholic school literature, school uniforms have never been acknowledged as a primary factor in producing a Catholic school effect. This is based on the assumption that uniforms are the direct cause of behavioral and academic outcome changes. Another area of controversy regarding school uniform and dress code policies revolve around the issue of gender. Nowadays, more teenagers are more frequently "dressing to articulate, or confound gender identity and sexual orientation ", which brings about "responses from school officials that ranged from indifferences to applause to bans".

Instances include the following: Although not all schools in the United States are required to wear school uniforms, the United States is slowly adapting the use of school uniforms. In some areas uniforms have become essential due to the poverty level that the schools reside in. Stephanie Northen of The Guardian wrote that school uniforms are less controversial in the United Kingdom compared to the United States and are usually not opposed on free speech grounds.

Advocates of uniforms have proposed multiple reasons supporting their implementation and claiming their success in schools. A variety of these claims have no research supporting them. Some of these pros include the following: In recent times, academic dress code has become the most debated topic among parents and educators. Many critics have stated that wearing uniforms has no impact on the thought process of a student nor does it considerably reduce inequality among the masses.

Though the idea of school uniforms didn't work with the Americans, many schools have a specific code of conduct relating to clothing. According to these rules, boys are instructed to wear pants, turtleneck shirts, sweaters, and blazers. Similarly, girls need to wear skirts, shirts, pants, leggings, and flat-heeled shoes. In countries such as India and Pakistan, school uniforms were introduced during the British colonial period.

In these countries, girls in senior secondary schools usually wear 'Salwar Kamiz' and boys wear pants and shirts. In preschool, girls wear skirts and blouses and boys wear short pants and shirts. In other parts such as New Zealand and Australia, where the British colonial rule was in effect, the uniform system is followed in public schools. In short, the purpose of a school uniform is to promote team spirit and discipline, and enhance equality among all students.

Though uniforms have helped to wipe out the discrimination meted out to the weaker section, critics have a different story to say. According to them, uniforms have no such great impact on the mindset of students. These standardized dresses have not helped to remove any barriers and are adding costs to the parents. Introduction of school uniforms was meant to inculcate a work-like environment, generate discipline, and help students to concentrate, so as to excel in academics.

Benefits of School Uniforms. Until recent years, the only schools in the United States that required uniforms were exclusive private schools. But the debate over the pros and cons of requiring school uniforms in public schools continues to rage.

In the 16th century, England was the first nation to require school uniforms. But these uniforms were not to be worn by elite students; they were to distinguish the poor children attending charity schools from other children. It wasn't until years later that students who attended the better English public schools began wearing uniforms.

Once this became the norm, it blossomed into an obsession, as well as a way to effect social and cultural control over the students. The arguments over requiring school uniforms in American public schools began in the s, with such comments as preventing individuality or freedom of expression at the top of the list of reasons against doing so.

However, arguments for school uniforms have included reducing peer pressure to have the latest designer clothing and saving parents money on their children's clothing by requiring the same uniform every year.

Most schools in the United States do not require uniforms, but instead enforce a standardized dress code of what types of clothing are appropriate for students to wear to school. The use of school uniform in the United States is slowly finding its way into public schools. The uniform policy was implemented in order to mold the students in a professional atmosphere and make them more responsible towards studies. Until recent years, the only schools in the United States that required uniforms were exclusive private schools. But the debate over the pros and cons of requiring school uniforms in public schools continues to rage. In the 16th century, England was the first nation to require school uniforms. But.